Thursday, September 30, 2010
Daily Crunch: The Operating Theater Edition
SteelSeries Shift Keyboard Lets You Switch Between Differet Keysets Kindle for Android Update Adds Voice Search, Wikipedia Dictionary The CitrusSaw: You Know, For Citrus CrunchDeals: Many Drives, Many Discounts Beautiful ?Naked Radio? Repurposes Parts, Looks Amazing
Corsair Launches New Line of Power Supplies for Mainstream Builders
Not everyone needs a Lexus to get from Point A to Point B, nor do you need a decked out power supply with all the bells and whistles (and matching price tag) to power a modest setup. That's the general mindset behind Corsair's new "Build Series" power supplies, which Corsair promises will provide "worry-free compatibility" with your system without putting a major dent in your Paypal account. "Corsair has earned a reputation for engineering the best PSUs on the market, and with the new Build Series, we now have
Apple gives developers compatibility lab day passes
Apple Developer Connection members have long had access to the company's compatibility labs, which allow them to test their software on a variety of Apple hardware configurations. But on Monday, Apple added a new option: a $99 Single Lab Day Pass for members of its Mac Developer Program.
Dell Unveils Compact SMB LED Color Printers
The new line of desktop color printers work like lasers, but their reliance on LEDs allows them to be smaller than lasers.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
PlayBook Aims to Cut Off iPad at Enterprise Pass
RIM announced its entry into the tablet computer space on Monday with the introduction of the BlackBerry Playbook. At its unveiling, RIM President and Co-CEO Mike Lazaridis intimated that business users would be the PlayBook's target market, but he also went to great lengths to point out specific features of the PlayBook that are not available on the consumer-oriented Apple iPad.
Microsoft releases tool to block DLL load hijacking attacks
Microsoft has responded to reports of potential zero-day attacks against a large number of Windows programs by publishing a tool it said would block known exploits.
However, the company declined to confirm whether any of its own applications are vulnerable, saying that it is currently investigating Microsoft-made software.
Malware Targeting Top News Sites, Message Boards
By poisoning popular sites with malicious content, attackers ensure that web surfers are never more than two clicks away from a threat, says Websense report.
15 Budget Busting Technology Projects
Large-scale information technology projects can balloon to inconceivable figures very quickly with endless revisions, change orders and delays pushing budgets into the stratosphere. Sometimes the cost of an IT project can be measured simply in dollars, but just as often these projects costly in other ways -- in reputation, for example. With government projects, it's easy to look at the budget and see how much it costs -- or at least how much it's supposed to cost. In the private sector, it's not as clear cut: often the people working on a specific project are employees of the company anyway, so you can't really measure the cost of the project in just dollars and cents. Many of the projects and products here the $100 million barrier; others are harder to put a figure on yet have to be considered "expensive" by any measure. Regardless of how you quantify it, these 15 projects cost their organizations a bundle.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
PlainText: iPad Text-Editor from the Makers of WriteRoom
Hog Bay Software, maker of the cult-favorite distraction-free text-editor Writeroom, has released its long-awaited iPad app, PlainText. When it was first announced, I was very excited to see a Dropbox-syncing, Textexpander-expanding writing app for the iPad. Now, though, it launches into a crowded field.
PlainText has two tricks. It has folders, which apps like Elements don’t [...]
PlainText has two tricks. It has folders, which apps like Elements don’t [...]
On your toes!
The more the I get the more I post. Thanks for reading about tech. No matter what it is. I will tell you about iphones and next i will write about new gps systems. You just never know!
Internet Explorer 9 final will require Windows 7 SP1 -- Update: no, it won't.
Filed under: Microsoft, Browsers
However, it's been decided that you're going to need Windows 7 SP1 installed before you can pop in the final version of IE9. Microsoft has yet to announce release dates for either SP1 or IE9, of course, but it's safe to assume that the service pack will arrive first based on the TechNet posting where the SP1 dependency is called out.
Why the hook to SP1? Will IE9 leverage some super-secret awesomeness that Microsoft has kept hidden from prying eyes? Probably not. But if you're going to run a shiny new browser, why not run it on the most up-to-date version of your OS that's available?
Interestingly (or not), there's no mention of Vista in the post. Of course, Vista users ought to either have installed Vista SP2 by now or upgraded to Windows 7 anyway, right?
[via Ars Techncia]
Update:
Microsoft has been reaching out to various sites to shed some light on the situation. In reality, SP1 will not be required:
"Internet Explorer 9 will work on Windows 7 RTW and Windows 7 SP1. When you install Internet Explorer 9 on a system that has Windows 7 RTM installed, additional operating system components are included as part of the installation of Internet Explorer 9. Those 'additional operating system components' will be part of Windows 7 SP1. Either way, this will be a seamless process for the user. Just wanted to make sure you had the latest."
Thanks, NeoWin!
Internet Explorer 9 final will require Windows 7 SP1 -- Update: no, it won't. originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Read | Permalink | Email this | CommentsMore for your computing power
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Daily Crunch: Bunker Dinner Edition
Sony?s Playstation Move ?Ultimate FAQ? Answers Your Most Frequent Queries Michelle Obama Program Blames Sony PlayStation For Making America?s Children Fat Fact: CD Spindle Cases Make Excellent Bagel Sandwich Holders Gesture Remote Forgoes Buttons For A Simple Trackpad Yet Some More Vinyl MacBook Decals For Your Enjoyment
Monday, September 27, 2010
Army Medic Puts the "Action" in "Action Camera" [Updated] [Military]
![Click here to read Army Medic Puts the "Action" in "Action Camera" [Updated]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_tgEx4e00lRXBK3J-V266qr8p3g6kB10q7uoH0n0S_LBD_MYoItgIm7Q4XtdW1zy3cdRI1mBbYtfUowmU9UJNdAT0lcO6uB1pWockoksuWSeHbbNv6Z2LRQjlaHgN23CU78yyRB6Z84T-9MA3Jvq5XF7GxAbmU=s0-d "Click here to read Army Medic Puts the "Action" in "Action Camera" [Updated]")
Electric tech and gear
This is the best electric tech and gear info that you need. Whether it\'s computers or gps systems, we have everything that you need for the tech lover in you.
Microsoft prepping Windows Phone 7 for an October 21st launch? (update: US on Nov. 8?)
We'd heard October. We heard Europe in October. We heard next month. Now, Neowin cites anonymous sources that Windows Phone 7 will arrive in the UK, France, Spain, Germany and Italy on precisely October 21st, and is preparing a good deal of marketing fanfare to support a fancy October 11th unveiling in New York City. We can't say whether the rumor's correct, but it's certainly picking up steam, as these particular numbers were independently reported by Pocket-lint and the Spanish publication El Economista earlier this month as well. Now all we need is an alleged US release date -- misery loves company, right?
Update: Microsoft expert Paul Thurrott says that while Redmond's indeed holding an October 11th shindig in NYC, it's not a Windows Phone event... but his source tells him the long-lost US launch date is actually November 8th. Imagine that!
[Thanks, Stephen]Microsoft prepping Windows Phone 7 for an October 21st launch? (update: US on Nov. 8?) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Pocket-lint | Neowin, Eleconomista | Email this | Comments
Update: Microsoft expert Paul Thurrott says that while Redmond's indeed holding an October 11th shindig in NYC, it's not a Windows Phone event... but his source tells him the long-lost US launch date is actually November 8th. Imagine that!
[Thanks, Stephen]Microsoft prepping Windows Phone 7 for an October 21st launch? (update: US on Nov. 8?) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 19:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Pocket-lint | Neowin, Eleconomista | Email this | Comments
HTC Mondrian stars in leaked AT&T ad campaign, jump-kicks lesser smartphones? (video)
Would you believe that after months of leaks, this is the first time we've allegedly seen the HTC Mondrian? It's true -- though from this angle, it's a dead ringer for the Mozart, which looks just like the Shubert, too. The above picture comes from what appear to be a pair of mostly complete ads for AT&T's Windows Phone 7 push, which if real make the Mondrian look like it might be a flagship device. Perhaps those rumors of a 1.3GHz Snapdragon inside weren't too far off. You won't find real phones demonstrated in the videos after the break, but don't let that stop you from clicking through -- you do like watching oblivious folks flying through the air, don't you?Continue reading HTC Mondrian stars in leaked AT&T ad campaign, jump-kicks lesser smartphones? (video)HTC Mondrian stars in leaked AT&T ad campaign, jump-kicks lesser smartphones? (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 26 Sep 2010 02:13:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink WMPowerUser | | Email this | Comments
Like The Ping Sidebar, iLike Founder Hopes Apple Copies Mission Of Helping Small Artists
If the new Ping sidebar that was launched today as a part of iTunes 10.0.1 looks familiar, perhaps it's because you've been using the iLike Sidebar -- an iTunes (and Windows Media Player) plug-in that does pretty much the same thing. We know at least one person finds the two very similar: Ali Partovi, the co-founder of iLike.
"I just hope Apple also copies iLike's mission of democratizing music by empowering artists, especially the little guys. With Ping's restrictions so far on artist signup, the major labels are the winners, not artists, and that breaks my heart," Partovi told us today when asked about Ping's newest feature.
"I just hope Apple also copies iLike's mission of democratizing music by empowering artists, especially the little guys. With Ping's restrictions so far on artist signup, the major labels are the winners, not artists, and that breaks my heart," Partovi told us today when asked about Ping's newest feature.
Sunday, September 26, 2010
EU Commission calls off investigation into Apple
The European Commission is calling off the investigation into Apple’s ban on cross-compilers after Apple reversed the policy. The EU also claims that the policy change was a direct result of their investigation.
“Apple’s response to our preliminary investigations shows that the Commission can use the competition rules to achieve swift results on the [...]EU Commission calls off investigation into Apple is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
“Apple’s response to our preliminary investigations shows that the Commission can use the competition rules to achieve swift results on the [...]EU Commission calls off investigation into Apple is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
The Long Wait for the Iliad of Modern Cooking, Modernist Cuisine [Modernist Cuisine]
Nathan Myhrvold, Bill Gates' former right-hand man is well known as the mastermind behind Intellectual Ventures. But he's also an insane chef, who's been working on the definitive guide to modern cooking, a six-volume, 2400-page tome, Modernist Cuisine. It's delayed. More »
The Randomiser lets you draw straws, 21st century style
Filed under: Design, web 2.0
The Randomiser is a one-trick pony, but it's an extremely fetching one. You get a huge, chunky text box on a dark background, where you enter a list of items (comma separated). Then, you hit Enter, and Randomiser chooses one item and tells you what it is.
It's as simple as that, really. The Randomiser beautifully designed, fast, and it works. If it only had a high-profile domain name, it's the type of thing that could become a widely-recognized utility. "Drawing straws" is one of the few remaining things Google doesn't do with its search box (yet?), and it's something just about everyone needs from time to time.
Randomiser presents a couple of tabs at the bottom: one is a simple suggestions tab (to give you some ideas for things you can "Randomise"), and one is "Recently Randomised," which actually gives you a nice, large ... error message.
Still, if it ever gets fixed this option introduces an interesting twist. On the one hand, what you enter won't be private (somewhat of a downer). On the other hand, you can look at what other (random) people are entering, which could be interesting.
Next time you're deliberating over what you should get for lunch, give Randomiser a shot. The authoritative manner in which it presents the selected answer is very convincing. One might even call it commanding.The Randomiser lets you draw straws, 21st century style originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
The Randomiser is a one-trick pony, but it's an extremely fetching one. You get a huge, chunky text box on a dark background, where you enter a list of items (comma separated). Then, you hit Enter, and Randomiser chooses one item and tells you what it is.
It's as simple as that, really. The Randomiser beautifully designed, fast, and it works. If it only had a high-profile domain name, it's the type of thing that could become a widely-recognized utility. "Drawing straws" is one of the few remaining things Google doesn't do with its search box (yet?), and it's something just about everyone needs from time to time.
Randomiser presents a couple of tabs at the bottom: one is a simple suggestions tab (to give you some ideas for things you can "Randomise"), and one is "Recently Randomised," which actually gives you a nice, large ... error message.
Still, if it ever gets fixed this option introduces an interesting twist. On the one hand, what you enter won't be private (somewhat of a downer). On the other hand, you can look at what other (random) people are entering, which could be interesting.
Next time you're deliberating over what you should get for lunch, give Randomiser a shot. The authoritative manner in which it presents the selected answer is very convincing. One might even call it commanding.The Randomiser lets you draw straws, 21st century style originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
iPad Web App Converts Flash Video On The Fly
Transmedia has introduced the new Glide OS 4.0, a cloud-based operating system that is ad-free, full of great productivity apps and best of all is compatible with the Apple iPad. It has great syncing capabilities and runs right from your iPad’s browser. It operates like an online mobile desktop. With Glide OS you can share [...]
Saturday, September 25, 2010
Facebook Movie Gets Overwhelmingly Positive Reviews, But Will People Go See It?
Premiering at �New York Film Festival�yesterday and coming to theaters October 1st, the world's first Hollywood movie about the founding of a social network can now also claim the bragging rights of a solid 100 score on movie review aggregator Metacritic as well as a 9.9 score on Rotten Tomatoes.
While both the Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes sample sizes are currently small, The Social Network joins The Godfather and Lawrence of Arabia (re-release) as one of the universally highest rated movies of all time.
While both the Metacritic and Rotten Tomatoes sample sizes are currently small, The Social Network joins The Godfather and Lawrence of Arabia (re-release) as one of the universally highest rated movies of all time.
Navy Helicopter Pilots Caught Hot Doggin' on YouTube [Video]
Back in the day, military pilots would tool around drunk on motorcycles all night and and abuse their planes by day until they nearly fell apart. Now they can't even dunk helicopters into Lake Tahoe without getting in trouble! More »
Robots 'to beat world's best' human footballers by 2050 and other things said when high
We're as hopeful about the future as anyone. Sure, we fear robots, but we're bound to have at least a few years of peaceful co-existence before they grow weary of our human insolence and irrational buffoonery. Claude Sammut, professor of computer science at New South Wales University in Australia (and RoboCup regular), believes that robots will surpass the abilities of professional human footballers (aka, soccer players) by 2050. For this to happen, he says that the field will require "major advances in perception, decision making, learning, and co-operative behaviours." Of course, looking at the current field of RoboCup contestants or even around the house at the TV (largely unchanged since 1930), telephone (patented in 1876), and iPod (now 9 years old), it's hard to imagine technology advancing that fast. That is, until the rate of technological change accelerates so fast that we achieve singularity sometime in 2030 or 2050, depending upon who you ask.Robots 'to beat world's best' human footballers by 2050 and other things said when high originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 06:42:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Telegraph | Email this | Comments
Mulve is a fast, free, non-P2P way to download music
Filed under: Audio
There isn't much else to say: Mulve is just a single 2MB, portable EXE that lets you download music. There's no UI to speak of, and it's completely unconfigurable. You just type in a band name or song title and... download.
The thing is, despite being free and tiny, the selection of music is insane. Lee found a bunch of crazy bands like The Wonderstuff, Mind Bomb, and Johnny Socko -- and for me, it even turned up plenty of hits for classical music by Mahler, Beethoven, and Mozart. All of the generic pop crap is there, too.
And it's fast! TorrentFreak reports that the servers might be located in Russia, but that didn't prevent Lee and I from maxing out our connections -- 600KB/s for him, and 2MB/s for me. There's no peer-to-peer in sight, either; these are just direct, fast downloads. If you need some more convincing, check the short video after the break.
For a service supported by just a single banner ad, it's surely too good to be true (and almost certainly unlicensed). It'll get shut down -- it's just a matter of whether it'll be thanks to Interpol, or due to too much traffic.
Mulve is a fast, free, non-P2P way to download music originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
There isn't much else to say: Mulve is just a single 2MB, portable EXE that lets you download music. There's no UI to speak of, and it's completely unconfigurable. You just type in a band name or song title and... download.
The thing is, despite being free and tiny, the selection of music is insane. Lee found a bunch of crazy bands like The Wonderstuff, Mind Bomb, and Johnny Socko -- and for me, it even turned up plenty of hits for classical music by Mahler, Beethoven, and Mozart. All of the generic pop crap is there, too.
And it's fast! TorrentFreak reports that the servers might be located in Russia, but that didn't prevent Lee and I from maxing out our connections -- 600KB/s for him, and 2MB/s for me. There's no peer-to-peer in sight, either; these are just direct, fast downloads. If you need some more convincing, check the short video after the break.
For a service supported by just a single banner ad, it's surely too good to be true (and almost certainly unlicensed). It'll get shut down -- it's just a matter of whether it'll be thanks to Interpol, or due to too much traffic.
Mulve is a fast, free, non-P2P way to download music originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Friday, September 24, 2010
Protect Your iPad With iShine Microfiber Sleeve
Every iPad owner understands the importance of keeping their device both protected and clean. It takes very little time for oil from your hands to build up on the iPad’s screen, leaving plenty of unwanted smudges. There is an affordable solution though thanks to the iShine Microfiber iPad Sleeve. The iShine Sleeve is a must [...]
Daily Crunch: Martial Arts Action Edition
Just Some Random LEGO Stop Motion, 8-Bit Nonsense For Your Lazy Friday Wood Stock, For Telling What Kind Of Wood You?re Looking At Review: Microsoft Arc Touch Mouse Kinect Competitor Gets Cash Infusion The Woogie: Why, God, Why?
Final Fantasy XIV PC controller debuts in dazzling white
Been itching to wrap your mitts around the latest Final Fantasy chapter? Well, we trust you've already obtained the FF XIV-endorsed WiFi router from Planex, so why not complete the set with the official PC controller from Sunflex? Coming in a snowy white enclosure, it doesn't stray far from the Dual Shock recipe that most PC gamepad makers like to cook from, although it does offer curiously elongated hand grips. Are Final Fantasy players generally larger than the average gamer or is this just a more ergonomic design for those 20-hour grinding sessions in the world that Square Enix built?Final Fantasy XIV PC controller debuts in dazzling white originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 24 Sep 2010 04:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Kotaku | Email this | Comments
How to Do Everything on Your Kindle, Pt. 2: Jailbreak Edition!
The Kindle 3 is a deceptively capable device, but Amazon doesn’t, by default, give you access to a lot of what’s going on under the hood. (The “Settings” menu only has three choices.) This is why some users pop that hood using jailbreaking tools — tools that work on the Kindle 3.
I haven’t taken this [...]
I haven’t taken this [...]
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Toshiba and Best Buy team up on the Satellite L635 Kids' PC, one-ups the kiddy netbooks
If you're under the age of ten there probably isn't much that can top seeing the Jonas Brothers in concert, chasing after Justin Bieber or a new episode of iCarly, but Toshiba and Best Buy are hoping its new jointly created Kids PC can elicit similar feelings of excitement from them youngins. The 13.3-inch Satellite L635 Kid's PC, as you may have figured out by now, isn't a netbook -- no siree, it's a big kid system with a dual-core Intel Celeron P4600 processor, 2GB of RAM, a DVD drive, and 250GB of storage. But, of course, there are some aspects that set it apart from mommy and daddy's laptop -- in addition to the "gender neutral" gray and neon green coloring it's got a rubberized, wipeable keyboard that makes it easy to clean off the cookie crumbs and cooties. Toshiba's also gone and loaded the 4.2-pound machine up with loads of child friendly software; it comes with NetNanny parental controls, KidZui's web browser and games like Lego Batman. It isn't a bad package for $499, but it'll only available exclusively at Best Buy starting on September 26. Hit the break for the full release and the gallery below for some hands-on shots of the not-so-little guy. Gallery: Toshiba Kids PC hands-on Gallery: Toshiba Kids PC press shotsContinue reading Toshiba and Best Buy team up on the Satellite L635 Kids' PC, one-ups the kiddy netbooksToshiba and Best Buy team up on the Satellite L635 Kids' PC, one-ups the kiddy netbooks originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 23 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Microsoft Xbox Chief Predicts Doom & Gloom For Blu-ray [He's Right,�Too]
Once upon a time, Microsoft backed a format called HD DVD and, well, that didn't turn out so well. But the departure from focusing on high-density physical media early on might have forced Microsoft -- and the Xbox team -- to look towards digital downloads for future products. UK Xbox chief, Stephen McGill, seems to agree and recently stated to gaming site Xbox Achievements that "People now�recognize�what a smart decision it was to keep the [Xbox 360] pricing low," in reference to not including an advance optical format within the Xbox 360. Then he goes on to�properly�slam the Blu-ray format.
Make the red ball meet the blue ball in Bipole -- Time-Waster
Filed under: Fun, Games, Time-Wasters
So, there's a red ball, and there's a blue ball. When they meet, there's a flash of light and you win. That sounds simple, right?
Well, Bipole quickly gets complicated. Each level is circular; you use the left and right arrow keys to rotate the level, and the balls slide around, bump against things, and free fall.
Pretty soon, "magnets" appear in the game. I'm not sure why they're called magnets, because they don't actually pull the balls in - they change their color! So, as soon as the red ball touches a blue "magnet," it becomes blue. And if two blue balls meet, nothing happens (ahem). You've got to be careful of the magnets. There are also hazards that just kill the balls altogether.
There are two other handy controls: hit Space to freeze the balls in place, and hit R to restart the level. It's casual, fun, and quite addictive!Make the red ball meet the blue ball in Bipole -- Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
So, there's a red ball, and there's a blue ball. When they meet, there's a flash of light and you win. That sounds simple, right?
Well, Bipole quickly gets complicated. Each level is circular; you use the left and right arrow keys to rotate the level, and the balls slide around, bump against things, and free fall.
Pretty soon, "magnets" appear in the game. I'm not sure why they're called magnets, because they don't actually pull the balls in - they change their color! So, as soon as the red ball touches a blue "magnet," it becomes blue. And if two blue balls meet, nothing happens (ahem). You've got to be careful of the magnets. There are also hazards that just kill the balls altogether.
There are two other handy controls: hit Space to freeze the balls in place, and hit R to restart the level. It's casual, fun, and quite addictive!Make the red ball meet the blue ball in Bipole -- Time-Waster originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 14:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Dell Quietly Announces 7? Android Tablet
I wouldn't even say they announced it. Apparently Michael Dell just casually mentioned it at Oracle-related conference. Of course, we already knew there would be larger versions of the streak. What I don't understand is why they released the tiny version first, and not a larger version with wider appeal?
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Toshiba Qosmio X500 landing September 26 with GTX 460M graphics and a $1,300 price tag
The best things in life, it turns out, aren't actually free. Toshiba's decided to freshen up its X500 gaming station with NVIDIA's new high-end GTX 460M discrete graphics and slapped a handsome $1,300 MSRP on the resulting beast. And a beast it shall be, with an 18.4-inch screen, Core i5 or i7 CPU choices, SSD storage options, up to 8GB of RAM, a backlit keyboard, and simulated 5.1 audio pumping out of Harman Kardon speakers. We had a chance to check out its X505 brother recently and came away impressed by the deep blacks the screen was able to produce. For a bit more visual detail, visit the gallery of product shots below.
[Thanks, Ralph]Gallery: Toshiba Qosmio X500 press shotsContinue reading Toshiba Qosmio X500 landing September 26 with GTX 460M graphics and a $1,300 price tagToshiba Qosmio X500 landing September 26 with GTX 460M graphics and a $1,300 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
[Thanks, Ralph]Gallery: Toshiba Qosmio X500 press shotsContinue reading Toshiba Qosmio X500 landing September 26 with GTX 460M graphics and a $1,300 price tagToshiba Qosmio X500 landing September 26 with GTX 460M graphics and a $1,300 price tag originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 22 Sep 2010 10:04:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Pocket-Sized Bluetooth Keyboard Folds Out Like Tranformer
If you really, really have to have a physical, clickety-clackety keyboard to get your words onto a screen, the Jorno might be just the thing. The Bluetooth keyboard gives you the full QWERTY experience but folds up into a pocketable package. The keys themselves are just 15% smaller than full-size, big enough for touch-typists with [...]
Take Me To a Future Where Books Act Like This [Future]
Books aren't going to go away any time soon. But, like magazines have started to, they're going to evolve. And if that evolution looks anything like these concepts, we're in for a pleasant literary future. More »
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
The man behind Foxconn, the largest and most powerful exporter in the world
Filed under: Business, Apple
First, a little trivia. You know that famous Foxconn factory -- the iPhone one, the one with the suicides -- well, it has between 300,000 and 450,000 employees. That's about four times the size of Microsoft and Dell, or ten times the size of Apple. But here's the scary bit: that factory ('Foxconn City') represents less than half of Foxconn's entire 920,000-strong workforce. By 2011, that number will grow to 1.3 million -- and every single one of them is making gadgets for us. Anyone would think that we're a society of consumers...
Bloomberg Businessweek has a fascinating (8-page!) interrogative analysis of Foxconn's owner, Terry Gou. Those million workers have just one boss -- or 'general', as he likes to call himself. As of today, it's speculated that he has a personal fortune of some $6 billion, but to Gou that's seemingly inconsequential: "I am not interested in knowing how much I have. I don't care. I am working not for money at this moment, I am working for society, I am working for my employees."
The story goes on, detailing how Foxconn started small, with Gou using a $7,500 loan from his mother to make plastic knobs for TVs. Soon after he was making connectors for the Atari 2600. Then in the early 1980s he toured the USA to pick up new customers, and the rest is history.
Sadly, a lot of the story is about Foxconn's working conditions -- and the suicides. I guess the allure of writing about death is such that even Bloomberg can't escape it. Nevermind that, even after 13 suicides, the suicide rate is still below the national average. Nevermind that Foxconn is providing jobs (well-paid by Chinese standards!) to the incredibly poor citizens of central China.
Still, if you're interested in finding out how the largest exporter in the world does business, about how Terry Gou goes that extra mile to ensure the happiness of Apple, Dell and other big-hitters, you should read the story.The man behind Foxconn, the largest and most powerful exporter in the world originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
First, a little trivia. You know that famous Foxconn factory -- the iPhone one, the one with the suicides -- well, it has between 300,000 and 450,000 employees. That's about four times the size of Microsoft and Dell, or ten times the size of Apple. But here's the scary bit: that factory ('Foxconn City') represents less than half of Foxconn's entire 920,000-strong workforce. By 2011, that number will grow to 1.3 million -- and every single one of them is making gadgets for us. Anyone would think that we're a society of consumers...
Bloomberg Businessweek has a fascinating (8-page!) interrogative analysis of Foxconn's owner, Terry Gou. Those million workers have just one boss -- or 'general', as he likes to call himself. As of today, it's speculated that he has a personal fortune of some $6 billion, but to Gou that's seemingly inconsequential: "I am not interested in knowing how much I have. I don't care. I am working not for money at this moment, I am working for society, I am working for my employees."
The story goes on, detailing how Foxconn started small, with Gou using a $7,500 loan from his mother to make plastic knobs for TVs. Soon after he was making connectors for the Atari 2600. Then in the early 1980s he toured the USA to pick up new customers, and the rest is history.
Sadly, a lot of the story is about Foxconn's working conditions -- and the suicides. I guess the allure of writing about death is such that even Bloomberg can't escape it. Nevermind that, even after 13 suicides, the suicide rate is still below the national average. Nevermind that Foxconn is providing jobs (well-paid by Chinese standards!) to the incredibly poor citizens of central China.
Still, if you're interested in finding out how the largest exporter in the world does business, about how Terry Gou goes that extra mile to ensure the happiness of Apple, Dell and other big-hitters, you should read the story.The man behind Foxconn, the largest and most powerful exporter in the world originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 06:46:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Fujifilm's FinePix X100 ships March 2011 for $1,000, we go hands-on (update: video!)
It's fitting that Fujifilm's thoroughly gorgeous FinePix X100 kicked off this week's flood of Photokina releases, and now we've learned a few more precious details from the outfit's press conference. For starters, it'll be a non-zoom apparatus, much like Olympus' Zuiko-equipped concept that was also launched here in Köln. Fujifilm's Adrian Clarke noted that the decision to include only a 23mm f/2 fixed lens was made in order to not make image quality compromises that are necessary when allowing for a zoom. We're sure that'll strike some as displeasing, but those who aren't afraid of moving forward and back could probably care less. Furthermore, he affirmed that the company was aiming for a March 2011 ship date, with a retail price to hit near the $1,000 mark. That's hardly affordable, but Fuji's making no bones about this being a decidedly high-end piece.
After the presser, we were able to score some hands-on time with a pre-production model, and we have to say, this thing just feels like a thousand bucks. It's as solid as a stone, though light packers won't appreciate just how heavy it is. Regardless, the body exudes quality, and the grip was as comfortable as ever. Sadly, no fully functional units are present here at Photokina, but we're cautiously optimistic that we'll see one at CES. It's doubtful that Fuji will sell oodles of these given the limitations and price, but to the niche that's interested, things are looking up.
Update: We just stopped by the Fujifilm booth in order to grab some video time with this guy, and sadly, the model that they had on display lacked a sensor of any kind. However, the dedicated toggle switch to flip between the OVF and EVF is a lovely touch, as were the dedicated control dials up top. Have a look yourself just beyond the break. Gallery: Fujifilm FinePix X100 hands-on at Photokina 2010 Gallery: Fujifilm FinePix X100 press photosContinue reading Fujifilm's FinePix X100 ships March 2011 for $1,000, we go hands-on (update: video!)Fujifilm's FinePix X100 ships March 2011 for $1,000, we go hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
After the presser, we were able to score some hands-on time with a pre-production model, and we have to say, this thing just feels like a thousand bucks. It's as solid as a stone, though light packers won't appreciate just how heavy it is. Regardless, the body exudes quality, and the grip was as comfortable as ever. Sadly, no fully functional units are present here at Photokina, but we're cautiously optimistic that we'll see one at CES. It's doubtful that Fuji will sell oodles of these given the limitations and price, but to the niche that's interested, things are looking up.
Update: We just stopped by the Fujifilm booth in order to grab some video time with this guy, and sadly, the model that they had on display lacked a sensor of any kind. However, the dedicated toggle switch to flip between the OVF and EVF is a lovely touch, as were the dedicated control dials up top. Have a look yourself just beyond the break. Gallery: Fujifilm FinePix X100 hands-on at Photokina 2010 Gallery: Fujifilm FinePix X100 press photosContinue reading Fujifilm's FinePix X100 ships March 2011 for $1,000, we go hands-on (update: video!)Fujifilm's FinePix X100 ships March 2011 for $1,000, we go hands-on (update: video!) originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 21 Sep 2010 08:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Daily Crunch: Entertainment System Edition
Sanyo Announces Rechargeable Waist Warmer And Neck Warmer XMI Updates X-Mini Speakers True To Form, LaCie Releases Two New USB 3.0 Drives NES Coffee Table Is Both An NES And A Coffee Table Pentax Announces K-r DSLR For $800
London, New York on track for subway cellular coverage?
After nearly three years of setbacks, if New York City isn't careful it looks like London just might win the race to extend cellular service to its underground transit system. The plan laid out by London Mayor Boris Johnson calls for the UK's big five wireless carriers (Vodafone, O2, Orange, T-Mobile, and 3) to cover the cost (some "hundreds of millions of pounds," according to the Telegraph) for a system that should hopefully wire the Tube by the 2012 Olympics. Meanwhile, the New York plan came back to life recently when Broadcast Australia purchased a majority stake in Transit Wireless, which was awarded some $46 million to wire subway platforms and select tunnels back in 2007 -- and which apparently threw in the towel shortly thereafter. Unlike the New York plan, London's won't be limited to the platforms, which is great news for Britons who like to listen to obnoxious strangers' cellphone conversations.London, New York on track for subway cellular coverage? originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 16:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Tech Radar | Bloomberg, Telegraph (UK) | Email this | Comments
Monday, September 20, 2010
Microsoft's Next IE: Ninth Time's the Charm?
Microsoft's Internet Explorer has had a lead in the Web browser battle for years, and that lead is still alive, but it's not well. IE has been losing some serious market share over the last few years, mostly because of young Turks like Firefox and Chrome. Not helping matters is the fact that the ancient IE6 browser is still tottering around like a sick old dog.
Leica quietly showcases D-Lux 5, redesigned X1 and rebranded DMC-FZ100
We're tucked away in Leica's high-brow design preview event here in Köln, and while it appears that the vast majority of those in attendance showed just to boast about their suit, we're strictly here for the gear. That being said, let us be the first to formally introduce you to the now-official D-Lux 5 rangefinder. Or, sort of official D-Lux 5. Unlike the M9 'Titanium' -- which the company spent a solid two hours boasting about -- the D-Lux 5 has been given nothing but a passing glance of affirmation, though we're anticipating a more formal release with specifications and the like tomorrow. Leica aficionados have likely been hearing whispers of this beaut for the past dozen months, but at long last, the unicorn has apparently transformed into a Gypsy Vanner. Though, still a mysterious one.
In case that's not exactly your cup of million-dollar tea, it appears that Panasonic's DMC-FZ100 -- deemed the world's best megazoom by critics back in August -- has been reborn as a Leica, though the shell doesn't appear to have changed at all. Of course, we've seen Leica pull this rebranding trick before, but we're sure the so-called V-Lux 2M is far superior in some way that we've yet to be informed about. Rounding out the round of mystique is the gently refashioned X1, which was seen sporting a far more luxurious casing compared to the original. Feel free to drown yourself in the images below, and keep it locked right here for more as we hear it. Gallery: Leica D-Lux 5 behind glass at Photokina 2010 Gallery: Leica's redesigned X1 on display at Photokina 2010 Gallery: Leica's V-Lux 2M shown at Photokina 2010Leica quietly showcases D-Lux 5, redesigned X1 and rebranded DMC-FZ100 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
In case that's not exactly your cup of million-dollar tea, it appears that Panasonic's DMC-FZ100 -- deemed the world's best megazoom by critics back in August -- has been reborn as a Leica, though the shell doesn't appear to have changed at all. Of course, we've seen Leica pull this rebranding trick before, but we're sure the so-called V-Lux 2M is far superior in some way that we've yet to be informed about. Rounding out the round of mystique is the gently refashioned X1, which was seen sporting a far more luxurious casing compared to the original. Feel free to drown yourself in the images below, and keep it locked right here for more as we hear it. Gallery: Leica D-Lux 5 behind glass at Photokina 2010 Gallery: Leica's redesigned X1 on display at Photokina 2010 Gallery: Leica's V-Lux 2M shown at Photokina 2010Leica quietly showcases D-Lux 5, redesigned X1 and rebranded DMC-FZ100 originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 20 Sep 2010 17:51:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Mezzi Gold M-Zero Molded ?Chuck? Briefcase Review
The Mezzi M-Zero Gold Aluminum Briefcase-the same briefcase that made a cameo appearance on the NBC show "Chuck". Anyone watch the NBC television nerd series “Chuck“?� It’s all about this average computer whiz guy nerd who works at a Best Buy-like store.� He’s harmless, nerdy, a little on the wussy side.� One day Chuck receives [...] Filed in categories: Laptop Gear, Reviews, Travel GearTagged: aluminum, briefcase, ChuckMezzi Gold M-Zero Molded “Chuck” Briefcase Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 19, 2010 at 3:29 pm.
Samsung Innovates Again With New Galexy Tab
There’s a lot of buzz surrounding Samsung’s new Galexy Tab, the company’s first attempt at a tablet device which is scheduled for launch this month in Europe. Many people have been wondering what companies would be the first to rival the already famous Apple iPad which was launched back in April and the Galexy Tab [...]
Sunday, September 19, 2010
After Watching This Video, It's Clear the Universe Will End Today [Image Cache]
There are plenty of amazing time lapse videos. This is one. But when you see it paired with Hans Zimmer's "Dream is collapsing"—from Inception's soundtrack—it goes from amazing to holy-fuck-the-Universe-is-about-to-collapse-and-we-are-all-gonna-die amazing. Play the HD full screen. Use headphones. More »
Lego Fits Perfectly In Real Life [Lego]
With those plastic Lego bricks, anyone can build anything. That's the idea captured in this video, made by Temujin Doran, where those beautiful little Lego creations are placed seamlessly (sort of) in the real world. More »
Lego Fits Perfectly In Real Life [Lego]
With those plastic Lego bricks, anyone can build anything. That's the idea captured in this video, made by Temujin Doran, where those beautiful little Lego creations are placed seamlessly (sort of) in the real world. More »
Facebook Foe Diaspora Releases Source Code ... Now What?
The team that created Diaspora, the open source social network launched earlier this year to take on Facebook, released their source code on Thursday, as promised. "This is now a community project, and development is open to anyone with the technical expertise who shares the vision of a social network that puts users in control," reads a note on the site written by the creators.
Saturday, September 18, 2010
How to uninstall Internet Explorer 9
Filed under: Microsoft, Beta, Browsers?
Maybe you've seen enough of the Internet Explorer 9 beta for now -- you just wanted a taste, but you'd rather not use a beta browser on a day-to-day basis. Maybe you just want to know how to uninstall it because other people are going to ask you how to do it. Unlike most other programs on your computer, however, you won't find IE9 listed on the Uninstall or change a program screen.
That's because Internet Explorer 9 installs as a Windows update. Here's what you need to do to uninstall IE9 on Windows Vista or Windows 7:
click your windows button and type view updates in the search box
once the results appear, click view installed updates
Don't want to search? Press Win+R and paste in the following:
C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:::{d450a8a1-9568-45c7-9c0e-b4f9fb4537bd}
then press enter.
wait for the Uninstall an update screen to load completely
scroll through the list until you find Windows Internet Explorer 9
click once to highlight IE9, then click the uninstall button (or right-click and uninstall)
confirm that you want to uninstall (click yes)
How to uninstall Internet Explorer 9 originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Maybe you've seen enough of the Internet Explorer 9 beta for now -- you just wanted a taste, but you'd rather not use a beta browser on a day-to-day basis. Maybe you just want to know how to uninstall it because other people are going to ask you how to do it. Unlike most other programs on your computer, however, you won't find IE9 listed on the Uninstall or change a program screen.
That's because Internet Explorer 9 installs as a Windows update. Here's what you need to do to uninstall IE9 on Windows Vista or Windows 7:
click your windows button and type view updates in the search box
once the results appear, click view installed updates
Don't want to search? Press Win+R and paste in the following:
C:\Windows\explorer.exe shell:::{d450a8a1-9568-45c7-9c0e-b4f9fb4537bd}
then press enter.
wait for the Uninstall an update screen to load completely
scroll through the list until you find Windows Internet Explorer 9
click once to highlight IE9, then click the uninstall button (or right-click and uninstall)
confirm that you want to uninstall (click yes)
How to uninstall Internet Explorer 9 originally appeared on Download Squad on Sat, 18 Sep 2010 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Will We Discover An Earth-like Planet By May 2011? [Earth]
Using math way more complicated than I fully understand, a scientific paper predicts that we will find a potentially habitable Earth-like planet by early May 2011. Oh. More »
How Small Countries Out-Perform (Spoiler: It?s A Lot Like Startups)
Any time economists, politicians and businessmen talk about emerging markets, the conversation seems to drift invariably to China like the Death Star pulling in the Millennium Falcon. And it?s not only words; China frequently does the same tractor-pull with foreign investment, high-paying multinational jobs and talent. So how can a tiny country in the emerging world possibly compete?
This is one of my favorite topics, having done reporting trips to Israel, Rwanda, Colombia and Chile in the last year - and getting ready to do one to Singapore in October and hopefully Kenya early next year. The topic was also one of the better panels I attended at The World Economic Forum?s ?Summer Davos? a few days ago. Appropriately enough it was for a small audience, while most people flocked to a panel about China. It?s also appropriate that I?m writing about it on the plane from huge China, headed back to tiny San Francisco?a city of well under a million that nevertheless houses the bulk of the hottest Web 2.0 companies.
This is one of my favorite topics, having done reporting trips to Israel, Rwanda, Colombia and Chile in the last year - and getting ready to do one to Singapore in October and hopefully Kenya early next year. The topic was also one of the better panels I attended at The World Economic Forum?s ?Summer Davos? a few days ago. Appropriately enough it was for a small audience, while most people flocked to a panel about China. It?s also appropriate that I?m writing about it on the plane from huge China, headed back to tiny San Francisco?a city of well under a million that nevertheless houses the bulk of the hottest Web 2.0 companies.
This Is How Angry Birds Would Look On a BlackBerry [Image Cache]
Angry Birds looks exactly how I imagined it would be on a BlackBerry. A whole load of fun. Too bad it's not the real thing. More »
Friday, September 17, 2010
CrunchGear Week in Review: Nappy Snazzer Edition
SnazzyNapper: Use It While Driving To Clear Out the Gene Pool! Bottle Collects Morning Dew, Elf Tears ReadySteady Is An Easy Way To Stabilize Your Pocketcam Tapi, So You Don?t Have To Drink From The Faucet Like A Cat ?I Want To Make This Toy? Fanboyism: When Expression Meets Desperation
Stylish Internet Phone from Bedol
If you make calls using internet services like MSN, AIM, Skype, Yahoo Messenger (or any other computer messenging application), this Bedol Internet Phone can replace your earphone and microphone.� You just plug it in to your PC or Mac, and you can use the Internet Phone like a hand-held phone, a speaker phone, or even [...] Filed in categories: Gear, Home Tech, NewsTagged: computer speaker, internet phoneStylish Internet Phone from Bedol originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 15, 2010 at 9:00 am.
Warners: $0.99 iTunes TV rentals too cheap
$0.99 TV show rentals are too cheap according the Warner CEO Barry Meyer, and would hurt full season TV show purchases.
Meyer said the deal was not a good value for the studio subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., which sells permanent downloads shows such as “Gossip Girl” on iTunes for $2.99 each.
I’m running out [...]Warners: $0.99 iTunes TV rentals too cheap is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Meyer said the deal was not a good value for the studio subsidiary of Time Warner Inc., which sells permanent downloads shows such as “Gossip Girl” on iTunes for $2.99 each.
I’m running out [...]Warners: $0.99 iTunes TV rentals too cheap is a story by TiPb. This feed is sponsored by The iPhone Blog Store. TiPb - The #1 iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch Blog
Mozilla fixes startup bug, Firefox auto-updates are go!
Filed under: Mozilla, BrowsersIt certainly didn't take long for Mozilla to jump to the pump and address a very-recently-announced bug affecting automatic updates to Firefox 3.6.9 and 3.5.11. A patch has been pushed, and users can now allow auto-update to do its thing without fear of winding up with a browser that won't start properly.
Mozilla's Christian Legnitto voiced his surprise about the bug in comments on Bugzilla, stating that it was "interesting that this doesn't show up in the top 300 crashes in 3.6.9pre or 3.5.12pre." He also notes that, even though the total number of FF crashes (around 1,000 per day in all) didn't seem to be affected much, this was still a bug which required immediate squashing. Legnitto posted that " ... because it is a crash on startup that could prevent people from using Firefox entirely, we feel it was best to get a fix out quickly."
[via CNet]Mozilla fixes startup bug, Firefox auto-updates are go! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Mozilla's Christian Legnitto voiced his surprise about the bug in comments on Bugzilla, stating that it was "interesting that this doesn't show up in the top 300 crashes in 3.6.9pre or 3.5.12pre." He also notes that, even though the total number of FF crashes (around 1,000 per day in all) didn't seem to be affected much, this was still a bug which required immediate squashing. Legnitto posted that " ... because it is a crash on startup that could prevent people from using Firefox entirely, we feel it was best to get a fix out quickly."
[via CNet]Mozilla fixes startup bug, Firefox auto-updates are go! originally appeared on Download Squad on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments
Thursday, September 16, 2010
New Apple TV's iOS can be jailbroken and made to run apps?
Remember the mysterious reference to iProd 2,1 that appeared in the iPad's code? We thought it might be a new CDMA or camera-equipped iPad, but it just might have been the new iOS-based Apple TV instead. Diving through the iOS 4.2 beta, a TUAW tipster allegedly uncovered the above key, which hints that we might have been right about the device's app potential all along. Though Apple may rely on a simpler media streaming UI for the home theater to enhance accessibility and ease of use, there's always the chance the community might jailbreak the $99 set-top box to do far greater things. While you wait with bated breath for confirmation of this wondrous possibility, why not check out our Apple TV hands-on?New Apple TV's iOS can be jailbroken and made to run apps? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 17 Sep 2010 01:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | TUAW | Email this | Comments
Skyhook sues Google for business interference and patent infringement
You might not know the company by name but you've almost certainly taken advantage of Skyhook's WiFi location-based services if you're a smartphone nerd. And let's face it, as an Engadget reader, you are. Now the company is suing Google for anti-competitive practices and patent infringement claiming that the ad giant used its control over Android to "force device manufacturers" to not only integrate Google's location technology instead of Skyhook's "superior end user experience," but also terminate contract obligations with Skyhook where they existed. Specifically, Skyhook says that Google wielded its power against handset manufacturers by "threatening directly or indirectly to deny timely and equal access to evolving versions of the Android operating system and other Google mobile applications." Boston-based Skyhook filed two lawsuits after negotiations with Google broke down, a business interference lawsuit filed in the Massachusetts Superior Court and a patent infringement lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts. According to Skyhook CEO Ted Morgan, "The message that Android is open is certainly not entirely true. Devices makers can license technology from other companies and then not be able to deploy it." Meow.Skyhook sues Google for business interference and patent infringement originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 16 Sep 2010 04:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | GigaOm | Email this | Comments
SCVNGR Launches Self-Serve Rewards Platform For Local Businesses
Over the last few months location-based game SCVNGR has been partnering with a number of major brands and companies, including the Patriots and AT&T, to participate in its�rewards program that gives real-world discounts to players for completing SCVNGR challenges (its competitors Foursquare and Gowalla have also landed major deals). This week SCVNGR launched a key new component to its rewards strategy: a self-serve tool that allows local businesses to set up their own rewards.
Any business can use SCVNGR's basic features for free by using the edit functions in the service's mobile clients to build challenges. But SCVNGR also offers a premium, web-based toolset for $80 a month that makes it easier to build and manage challenges.
Any business can use SCVNGR's basic features for free by using the edit functions in the service's mobile clients to build challenges. But SCVNGR also offers a premium, web-based toolset for $80 a month that makes it easier to build and manage challenges.
Motorola Acquires Location-Based Mobile Software Startup Aloqa
Motorola this morning announced that it has bought Aloqa, a privately-held startup that develops location-based software and technologies designed to enable the discovery of relevant web content by mobile smartphone users.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Aloqa was venture-backed; the company raised $1.5 million in Series A funding from multiple angel investors and VC firm Wellington Partners a little over a year ago.
Motorola says it will use Aloqa's expertise to enhance MOTOBLUR, which delivers customized content to mobile device homescreens, with a context-aware platform and related services.
Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Aloqa was venture-backed; the company raised $1.5 million in Series A funding from multiple angel investors and VC firm Wellington Partners a little over a year ago.
Motorola says it will use Aloqa's expertise to enhance MOTOBLUR, which delivers customized content to mobile device homescreens, with a context-aware platform and related services.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Internet Explorer 9 news roundup from around the Web
Filed under: Microsoft, Beta, Browsers
Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, the Internet Explorer 9 news is coming hard and fast. I've compiled some of the best articles I've seen thus far, including hands on reviews from other bloggers, some slick demos and tutorials, and a ton of official postings from Microsoft.
Engadget's Joanna Stern reviews the IE9 beta
Switched goes hands on with IE9
Ed Bott's in-depth review: Internet Explorer 9 beta review: Microsoft reinvents the browser
Harry McCracken's first impression: IE9 is back in the game.
Wired: IE9 is lean, fast, and modern
PC Magazine: IE9 can stand tall among the competition
...And in case you missed our quick hits from earlier today when the embargo was "accidentally" broken and previous coverage:
Our IE9 Tag Page
Sebastian's three-browser hardware acceleration shootout
IE9 lets you pin web apps to your taskbar, supports custom jumplists
IE9's streamlined interface: speed dial, unified search and address bar
The new and improved IE9 download manager
Already got the Internet Explorer 9 beta installed? Why not see what it can really do!
Jason Santa Maria and Friends collaborate on Lost World's Fairs, a slick demo of IE9's capabilities
Microsoft's official Beauty of the Web site
The Internet Explorer 9 Test Drive site
For IE9 coverage straight from Microsoft, these links are for you:
Internet Explorer 9 Top Features
Official press release
Keynote speech
The Windows Team Blog IE9 beta release post
Hardware acceleration explained
Internet Explorer 9 news roundup from around the Web originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Now that the proverbial cat is out of the bag, the Internet Explorer 9 news is coming hard and fast. I've compiled some of the best articles I've seen thus far, including hands on reviews from other bloggers, some slick demos and tutorials, and a ton of official postings from Microsoft.
Engadget's Joanna Stern reviews the IE9 beta
Switched goes hands on with IE9
Ed Bott's in-depth review: Internet Explorer 9 beta review: Microsoft reinvents the browser
Harry McCracken's first impression: IE9 is back in the game.
Wired: IE9 is lean, fast, and modern
PC Magazine: IE9 can stand tall among the competition
...And in case you missed our quick hits from earlier today when the embargo was "accidentally" broken and previous coverage:
Our IE9 Tag Page
Sebastian's three-browser hardware acceleration shootout
IE9 lets you pin web apps to your taskbar, supports custom jumplists
IE9's streamlined interface: speed dial, unified search and address bar
The new and improved IE9 download manager
Already got the Internet Explorer 9 beta installed? Why not see what it can really do!
Jason Santa Maria and Friends collaborate on Lost World's Fairs, a slick demo of IE9's capabilities
Microsoft's official Beauty of the Web site
The Internet Explorer 9 Test Drive site
For IE9 coverage straight from Microsoft, these links are for you:
Internet Explorer 9 Top Features
Official press release
Keynote speech
The Windows Team Blog IE9 beta release post
Hardware acceleration explained
Internet Explorer 9 news roundup from around the Web originally appeared on Download Squad on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phone
It's not every day our interest is piqued by an iPhone / iPod speaker dock, but when the folks at Audyssey told us they were entering the space with their new South of Market Edition, our ears perked up. You're probably familiar with Audyssey if you're into home theater at all -- the company's automatic EQ system is in all sorts of receivers -- and the SOM dock promises the same sort of tuned audio performance you'd expect from the company. It also offers a little twist: you can pair your phone or computer via Bluetooth for both streaming music and making speakerphone calls with the built-in mic. Neat -- although at $399 it's definitely pricey.
We spent a few minutes playing with a review sample, and it certainly does what's promised, although we were told our voices sounded quite muddled when we made a speakerphone call. Music-wise, the SOM gets quite loud and the two large bass drivers certainly offered plenty of punch; audio quality over Bluetooth was definitely passable, and we managed a pretty respectable 30-foot line-of-sight range when streaming music, although plugging directly in definitely improved the sound. Of course, spending $399 on a Bluetooth speaker dock for your iPhone right now when AirPlay-compatible devices are right around the corner definitely seems like a bad idea, but if you're just looking for an attractive and great-sounding speaker dock to charge your iPhone in the office and you can swing the price, the SOM is well worth a look. More images in the gallery and PR after the break.
Gallery: Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phoneContinue reading Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phoneAudyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
We spent a few minutes playing with a review sample, and it certainly does what's promised, although we were told our voices sounded quite muddled when we made a speakerphone call. Music-wise, the SOM gets quite loud and the two large bass drivers certainly offered plenty of punch; audio quality over Bluetooth was definitely passable, and we managed a pretty respectable 30-foot line-of-sight range when streaming music, although plugging directly in definitely improved the sound. Of course, spending $399 on a Bluetooth speaker dock for your iPhone right now when AirPlay-compatible devices are right around the corner definitely seems like a bad idea, but if you're just looking for an attractive and great-sounding speaker dock to charge your iPhone in the office and you can swing the price, the SOM is well worth a look. More images in the gallery and PR after the break.
Gallery: Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phoneContinue reading Audyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phoneAudyssey Audio Dock: South of Market Edition offers high-end Bluetooth music streaming for your phone originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 15 Sep 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Logitech Rocks the House with New THX Certified Speakers
Logitech might not be a brand that people typically think of when they think speaker systems. But their latest system might change that. The Z623 is a 2.1 system that is affordably priced ($149.99), offers 200W output and is THX certified. It has volume controls that are integrated into the speaker itself for convenient adjustability. [...] Filed in categories: Audio, Video, TV Gear, News, Spotlight GadgetsTagged: SpeakerLogitech Rocks the House with New THX Certified Speakers originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on September 13, 2010 at 2:00 pm.
51 Radiant Ray Wallpapers [Photography]
When planning this week's Shooting Challenge, I hadn't been so forward-thinking to realize that it coincided with New York's "Tribute in Light" 9/11 memorial. Having said that, these entries definitely added an unexpected depth to the results: More »
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
The Secret, 250 Man Hollywood Team That Captured Our Doomsday Bombs [Nuclear]
As the nuclear arms race exploded (sorry) in the 1950s, scientists and the politicians that funded them still weren't exactly sure what their new superweapons would do. Their solution? A crack team of 250 Hollywood elites to film massive explosions. More »
DARPA seeks out remote controls for soldiers' minds
DARPA is always on the lookout for the newest, zaniest gadgets but this time, we think it's gone too far. According to the Department of Defense's recent blog post, the military is interested in developing remote control techniques using ultrasound... for soldiers. Arizona State University neuroscientist William Tyler has been working on the project for several years, and now, DARPA is getting involved as well. Tyler and his team have developed a transcranial pulsed ultrasound capable of stimulating brain circuits from outside of the brain, and it can target deeper parts of the brain than past devices. The prototypes are small enough to be placed inside of a helmet, and the plan is to improve its spatial resolution with DARPA's new infusion of funding. We know they're probably looking to do cool stuff like make soldiers think they're nice and cool when they're actually frying in the sun, but we can't help but get the creeps from this one.DARPA seeks out remote controls for soldiers' minds originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 14 Sep 2010 19:24:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink Wired | Armed with Science | Email this | Comments
Enter Wired?s Smartphone Photography Contest
Think your phone takes pretty good photos? Submit your best smartphone shots to Wired’s smartphone photo contest and show the world!
Smartphones may lack the big sensors and low-light capabilities of more serious cameras, but they’re portable, unobtrusive and let you apply some remarkably sophisticated post-processing effects on the fly.
That has inspired a subculture of photographers [...]
Smartphones may lack the big sensors and low-light capabilities of more serious cameras, but they’re portable, unobtrusive and let you apply some remarkably sophisticated post-processing effects on the fly.
That has inspired a subculture of photographers [...]
Firefox Friday: can Firefox hold off Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome?
Filed under: Internet, Mozilla, BrowsersHappy Firefox Friday, friends! In the lead up to an exciting winter, things have been heating up at Mozilla.
There's strong competition from all sides. The IE9 beta launches next week and we'll soon see whether Microsoft can transform its excellent developer previews into something which can make the end-user salivate. Chrome's hardware acceleration currently leads the pack, and will presumably find its way to the beta build very soon. Does Firefox 4 have what it takes to hold onto its wavering market share?
This war, kicked off by Google's intent to push Chrome from nerdy obscurity into the mainstream, has forced Mozilla to roll with the blows. After almost completely avoiding innovation with Firefox 3.6 -- yay, Personas! -- we're now seeing a delicious glut of additions rolling out with each and every beta build of Firefox 4.
These past two weeks have been the busiest I've ever seen Mozilla, in terms of bug fixes, new features, and new out-reach and research projects. Let's tuck in!
Firefox debuts new JagerMonkey JavaScript engine, now on the tail of Chrome and IE9
JavaScript has long been a weakness of Firefox -- or rather, it became a sore point after the initial release of Chrome showed the world just how fast JavaScript can be. With JagerMonkey, Firefox 4's JS performance will be very close to the competition.
From conversations with developers at Mozilla, I also get the feeling that raw JavaScript performance isn't their prime concern. Benchmarks are notoriously bad at depicting real-world applications -- and JavaScript can still only perform as fast as the layout engine lets it.
It's safe to say that FF4 will run your JavaScript-intensive games and Web apps just fine.
The outlook of in-the-browser 2D and 3D games is sunny
JavaScript performance certainly isn't the only measure of what a browser can do, but it is very important when it comes to browser games and calculation-intensive Web apps. Which brings me neatly on to this week's release of Mozilla Labs Gaming. Mozilla usually manages to drum up a lot of interest with its competitions and design challenges, but usually these take the form of concept brainstorms, or mock-ups for new browser features. I'm not sure whether the slower-moving and slightly-less-hip-than-it-used-to-be Mozilla can pull off a gaming competition -- but I hope I'm wrong.
Mozilla certainly has plenty of academic ties, and what with it being the start of a new school year, perhaps Open Web Gaming will be on the curriculum? In fact, looking at the sheer number and variety of today's 'open' technologies, you could create an entirely open-source curriculum! Are you listening, universities? Open video, audio, WebGL, JavaScript, SVG, geolocation.
Gamers and developers, you should take a look at Rocket Engine
I intend to do a full write-up of Rocket Engine, but in the meantime here are my initial thoughts: OMG. The website is intentionally vague, but it looks like it's a pure JavaScript games engine with an in-the-browser SDK and editor. Watch the video and have your mind blown.
It should be immediately apparent how potentially awesome a JavaScript games engine is. Rocket Pack (the developer) pulls no punches by showing the same game running on a PC, netbook and iPad -- apparently you can even design games on an iPad.
But that's not the best bit: Rocket Engine can be used to build MMOs like FarmVille. I've seen a few HTML5 and JavaScript game engines, but this is certainly the first to offer such a wide range of features. Just scroll down and have a look at what's on offer -- crazy.
Which reminds me... what's happening to that Mozilla Web App Store?
What can developers do with their games after they write them? Self-publish? Publish their game on Steam?
Everyone and their mother is working on an app store at the moment -- but not Mozilla. All of this talk of building upon Open Web technologies and shunning proprietary platforms like Native Client, yet the only outlet Firefox developers have is AMO! And that's for add-ons!
I'm certain Chrome's Web Store will open first -- not to mention the tie-in it will have with Google TV and Chrome OS installations! -- and Microsoft has spent the last few months pushing developers to write apps for IE9... but Mozilla is still only testing the waters.
If Mozilla built it, game developers would come.
This week's Firefox release round-up
To finish, here are the latest Mozilla releases, along any significant changes:
Firefox 3.6.9 -- the stable build of Firefox received a ton of bug fixes (67!) and patched no less than 14 security vulnerabilities
Firefox 3.5.12 -- yup, tons of people are still running Firefox 3.5. Some security and stability issues were fixed
Firefox 4.0 beta 5 -- and finally, FF4 beta 5 was released this week, with hardware acceleration turned on by default and the inclusion of the new Audio Data API. The hardware acceleration -- if it can be called that -- actually doesn't seem to work right now. I've asked Mozilla about it, but I haven't had a response yet
Thunderbird 3.1.3 -- yes, Thunderbird is still going! This is just a standard point release that fixes some bugs and stability issues
Firefox Friday: can Firefox hold off Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome? originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
There's strong competition from all sides. The IE9 beta launches next week and we'll soon see whether Microsoft can transform its excellent developer previews into something which can make the end-user salivate. Chrome's hardware acceleration currently leads the pack, and will presumably find its way to the beta build very soon. Does Firefox 4 have what it takes to hold onto its wavering market share?
This war, kicked off by Google's intent to push Chrome from nerdy obscurity into the mainstream, has forced Mozilla to roll with the blows. After almost completely avoiding innovation with Firefox 3.6 -- yay, Personas! -- we're now seeing a delicious glut of additions rolling out with each and every beta build of Firefox 4.
These past two weeks have been the busiest I've ever seen Mozilla, in terms of bug fixes, new features, and new out-reach and research projects. Let's tuck in!
Firefox debuts new JagerMonkey JavaScript engine, now on the tail of Chrome and IE9
JavaScript has long been a weakness of Firefox -- or rather, it became a sore point after the initial release of Chrome showed the world just how fast JavaScript can be. With JagerMonkey, Firefox 4's JS performance will be very close to the competition.
From conversations with developers at Mozilla, I also get the feeling that raw JavaScript performance isn't their prime concern. Benchmarks are notoriously bad at depicting real-world applications -- and JavaScript can still only perform as fast as the layout engine lets it.
It's safe to say that FF4 will run your JavaScript-intensive games and Web apps just fine.
The outlook of in-the-browser 2D and 3D games is sunny
JavaScript performance certainly isn't the only measure of what a browser can do, but it is very important when it comes to browser games and calculation-intensive Web apps. Which brings me neatly on to this week's release of Mozilla Labs Gaming. Mozilla usually manages to drum up a lot of interest with its competitions and design challenges, but usually these take the form of concept brainstorms, or mock-ups for new browser features. I'm not sure whether the slower-moving and slightly-less-hip-than-it-used-to-be Mozilla can pull off a gaming competition -- but I hope I'm wrong.
Mozilla certainly has plenty of academic ties, and what with it being the start of a new school year, perhaps Open Web Gaming will be on the curriculum? In fact, looking at the sheer number and variety of today's 'open' technologies, you could create an entirely open-source curriculum! Are you listening, universities? Open video, audio, WebGL, JavaScript, SVG, geolocation.
Gamers and developers, you should take a look at Rocket Engine
I intend to do a full write-up of Rocket Engine, but in the meantime here are my initial thoughts: OMG. The website is intentionally vague, but it looks like it's a pure JavaScript games engine with an in-the-browser SDK and editor. Watch the video and have your mind blown.
It should be immediately apparent how potentially awesome a JavaScript games engine is. Rocket Pack (the developer) pulls no punches by showing the same game running on a PC, netbook and iPad -- apparently you can even design games on an iPad.
But that's not the best bit: Rocket Engine can be used to build MMOs like FarmVille. I've seen a few HTML5 and JavaScript game engines, but this is certainly the first to offer such a wide range of features. Just scroll down and have a look at what's on offer -- crazy.
Which reminds me... what's happening to that Mozilla Web App Store?
What can developers do with their games after they write them? Self-publish? Publish their game on Steam?
Everyone and their mother is working on an app store at the moment -- but not Mozilla. All of this talk of building upon Open Web technologies and shunning proprietary platforms like Native Client, yet the only outlet Firefox developers have is AMO! And that's for add-ons!
I'm certain Chrome's Web Store will open first -- not to mention the tie-in it will have with Google TV and Chrome OS installations! -- and Microsoft has spent the last few months pushing developers to write apps for IE9... but Mozilla is still only testing the waters.
If Mozilla built it, game developers would come.
This week's Firefox release round-up
To finish, here are the latest Mozilla releases, along any significant changes:
Firefox 3.6.9 -- the stable build of Firefox received a ton of bug fixes (67!) and patched no less than 14 security vulnerabilities
Firefox 3.5.12 -- yup, tons of people are still running Firefox 3.5. Some security and stability issues were fixed
Firefox 4.0 beta 5 -- and finally, FF4 beta 5 was released this week, with hardware acceleration turned on by default and the inclusion of the new Audio Data API. The hardware acceleration -- if it can be called that -- actually doesn't seem to work right now. I've asked Mozilla about it, but I haven't had a response yet
Thunderbird 3.1.3 -- yes, Thunderbird is still going! This is just a standard point release that fixes some bugs and stability issues
Firefox Friday: can Firefox hold off Internet Explorer 9 and Chrome? originally appeared on Download Squad on Fri, 10 Sep 2010 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.Permalink | Email this | Comments
Monday, September 13, 2010
Intel's Sandy Bridge Processors Coming Early Next Year [Guts]
Confirming what everyone was pretty positive about in the first place, Intel has announced that its next generation of Core processors—code name: Sandy Bridge—will be hitting the market early next year for both desktops and laptops. They're built on the same 32nm process as the current batch of Core guts, and more importantly continue the graphics integration that the Core i3, i5, and i7's Achilles heel. More »
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